Some good news from China and several other markets as cinemas starting to re-open.
Some good news from China and several other markets as cinemas starting to re-open.
In China, cinemas, along with some other entertainment and leisure facilities (eg.museums) can re-open as long as they take measures such as limiting attendance to control crowds and pre-ordering tickets online, according to a guideline from China’s State Council on May 8. No specific timing on this re-opening was given. Venues should strengthen ventilation and implement daily cleaning and disinfection, it added, while members of the public should continue to wear masks in public places. Wanda has confirmed that it is looking at how to re-open its cinemas. In April, China Film Administration estimated that the closures could cost the Chinese market around $4.2bn in box office this year.
UK Cinema Association has said that cinemas could be ready for a re-opening of cinemas by the end of June. Today, the government set out more details on a re-opening plan and stated that cinemas can open as from 4 July 2020. This date would just about fit in with the opening of Tenet in mid-July, giving staff and customers two weeks to get used to the operational issues that social distancing and hygiene measures will require.
In one of Europe’s largest cinema markets, Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region, the most populous state in the country, will allow cinemas to re-open from 30 May. Measures include a minimum distance of 1.5m between people. German States of Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein are also both planning to reopen cinemas on 18 May. They account for just over a quarter of the country’s screens. The state of Hessen is looking to allow opening from 15 May. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the date for re-opening is set at 25 May, with a capacity of 75 people and a distance apart of 1.5m.
In the Netherlands, cinemas will be allowed to open from 1 June, with a 30-person capacity per site. From 1 July, assuming all goes well, that number will be increased to 100 people, which is around 25% capacity.
Spain has already said that cinemas will be allowed to re-open in Phase 2, from around 25 May, with a maximum capacity of one third.
The Bulgarian Health Ministry has also stated that cinemas may re-open from 13 May with no more than 30% of seats occupied.
In Iceland, cinemas were allowed to re-open from 4 May with a capacity limit of 50 people per screen.
In the Baltics, there are signs of loosening too. Cinemas in Latvia could be allowed to reopen from 12 May, limited to 25 people per screening and a distance of 2m as part of a gradual relaxing of lockdown rules. On a negative note, Polish company Multikino has closed its Latvian site. Lithuanian cinemas could reopen on 30 May, limited to 30 people per screening. In Estonia, the timing of re-opening cinemas is not yet defined but shopping malls are reopening as from today 11 May, and some other indoor activities from mid-May.
Cinemas in New Zealand will be allowed to re-open from 14 May, along with shopping malls, cafes and gyms. These activities will be required to have physical distancing and strict hygiene measures in place.
Australian cinemas are targeting mid-July as a restart date, as part of a second phase of gradual easing. It will be up to each State to decide on the timing. One of the conditions of re-opening for exhibitors will be a suitable slate of movies to entice the public back into their cinemas. The re-opening will be accompanied by a raft of hygiene and distancing measures.
Production on film and TV productions has re-started in New Zealand, according to the New Zealand Film Commission. Guidelines for re-opening were approved and productions in the country need to register with local portal ScreenSafe before commencing.
Disney is to open its Shanghai theme park from 11 May, while keeping all others shut for now. This follows group earnings showing the theme park unit having made a loss in the second quarter. In Germany, theme parks Legoland and Europe Park are set to open in May with appropriate distancing measures in place.
